21 Oct 1909 – 21 Sep 1974
2nd-Great-Grandson of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Great-Grandson of Marie Madeline Cardon and Charles Guild
Grandson of Mary Madeline Guild and John William Cross
Son of Emma Cross and Will H. Thomas
Extract from “Descendants of Charles Guild and Mary Madaline Cardon” by Susan Thomas Tippets
On 27 Jun 1938, at the John C. Walker ranch located in Lyman, Uinta County, Wyoming, Archie Van Thomas married Sylvia Mary Walker. The ceremony was performed by Sylvia’s father, John C. Walker.
Archie was from Mountain View and Sylvia from Lyman. Those two towns were bitter rivals in school competition and other activities. The young couple met at a dance and courted for several years before tying the knot of matrimony.
Archie was a quick wit and had a sense of humor. He enjoyed visiting relatives and friends. His nickname was “Pat”. According to his brother, Charles, their dad, Will H. Thomas, named Archie “Pat, the Swede” and Frank, “Ole Mike” because they were the only tow-headed kids in the family. He called thm “the two Swedes”.
It was the responsibility of the two Swedes to care for the milk cows. Archie started those chores about eight years of age. He and Frank milked six to eight head of cows, and fed the calves and pigs.
The two Swedes also played basketball for Mt. View High School. Archie graduated from high school in 1927. He and Frank were not only brothers, but lifelong friends.
Archie dearly loved his Grandmother Cross and enjoyed teasing her. After he was engaged to Sylvia, he took her to meet his grandmother, who was quite frail and unable to remember things accurately. Apparently she did not know Archie at first. After awhile, she remarked, “Now I know who you are. You are that mean Thomas boy who has the nice wife.”
Archie and Sylvia’s first home was on the Thomas homestead in Mountain View. They lived with Archie’s parents for awhile, milking cows and driving the mail route to Lonetree and other small towns in the area. Archie raised sheep and a few cows to provide a living for his family. They remained on the ranch until Archie went to Laramie to study civil engineering.
Life was not easy those first years. Sylvia had been used to many more luxuries on the Walker Ranch than were available in the Thomas home. She often remarked that although the floors were dirt, Mother Thomas kept them spotless and did her best to make the home comfortable.
Sylvia often remarked that she longed for some music and other diversion after her marriage. Dad Thomas would turn the radio on only long enough to hear the news and then turned it off again.
Sylvia received her normal teaching certificate after graduation from Lyman High School. She then taught school in Lonetree, Burnt Fork and McKinnon which were one-room schools with grades from 1012. Sylvia loved teaching and always took the opportunity to give lessons whenever she could. As a Sunday School teacher, she made the Bible and Book of Mormon stiries live for the students.
From this union were born three daughters, Madelyn, Colleen, and Karen. Madelyn was born at the Walker Ranch on 14 September 1939. On 21 April 1960, she married Marvin Oscar Evans of Evanston, Wyoming, in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple. They were blessed with three children: Linda, Michael, and Sandra. Since 1987, two granddaughters, Ashlii Dawn and Jessica Ann Schmidt, have also been raised in their home. They currently reside in Eden, Utah.
Linda married Terry Schmidt in 1984 and divorced in 1986. She married David Murphree in 1989 and divorced in 1990. Children born to Linda were Thomas David Murphree, born 30 June 1989, and Jordan Evans, born 4 July 1990.
Michael married Michelle Poulson on 27 April 1991, in the Logan LDS Temple. They adopted Linda’s son Thomas David Murphree in 1991, and changed his name to Thomas Van Evans. They have two other children, Tanner Michael Evans, born 13 march 1992, and Sarah Evans, born 27 Nov 1994.
Sandra married James Calvin Snyder on 2 September 1992, in the Logan LDS Temple. A daughter, Jacqueline was born 8 July 1993.
While Archie was attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Colleen was born 22 May 1942. She married Kenneth Arvon Long of Bennett, Uintah, Utah, in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple on 21 September 1971. Three daughters, resulted from this marriage: Camille, Denise, and Sharilee. The Longs currently reside in Eden, Utah.
Camille was married in Newberry, Berkshire, England, on 4 July 1992, to Mark Antoni Napier and divorced 25 September 1994. One child Kaitlin Nicole Napier was born 24 January 1994. Camille married Gregory Wayne Myers 28 December 1994 in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.
While traveling from Laramie to Bridger Valley, Archie and Sylvia were caught in a terrible Wyoming blizzard in Rawlins and decided to stay there. After 3 or 4 years they were blessed with the birth of their third child, Karen Iren. She was born in Laramie, Albany, Wyoming, on 2 May 1947.
On 27 Jun 1969, she married Dennis Wells Jackson of Lewiston, Utah in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple. Three sons – Dennis Scott, Jeffrey Thomas, Daren Wells and three daughters – kara Lynn, Shalise, and Michelle have blessed their home. The Jacksons currently reside Lewiston, Utah.
Kara Lynn was married 20 January 1995 to Todd Lamoin Downs in the Logan LDS Temple. Scott married Marci Hancey on 12 May 1995, in the Logan LDS Temple.
Archie’s family remained in Rawlins for 16 years. Archie tried his luck at managing the B.F. Goodrich Tire Shop. However after a few years at the tire shop, Archie began working for the Wyoming State Highway Department in the maintenance department. He enjoyed being outside and was a friend to the many men that worked with him throughout the years.
Later, he was able to transfer to the Civil Engineering department and remained in that position until he retired at the age of 62. He did try working for the Cream O’ Weber Dairy for awhile but shortly returned to the Highway Department.
Archie and Frank were always teasing their sister Mary. They would find opportunities to tease her about her boyfriends calling them nicknames that would not always be very complementary. Archie continued this trait even with his own daughters, which they did not always appreciate. In fact, they remarked that the boys they brought home and their dad did not call by a nickname, those were the ones to marry.
Being raised in an active LDS family, Sylvia was deeply engrained with certain ideals, principles and goals, which she valued throughout her life. Probably one of Sylvia’s greatest virtues was her faith in prayer and fasting. She had a strong testimony of her Savior.
Archie’s background included a mixture of LDS and Protestant faith, although his own religious activity was limited to special occasions. Throughout their married life, this difference in religious training was an obstacle to their complete happiness.
Sylvia was a wonderful mother and homemaker. She taught her daughters to be resourceful and work hard. She shared her talents of sewing, food preparation and preservation and other homemaking skills which have been carried on by her daughters. She loved music and played the piano and organ beautifully.
Archie inherited the piano which his mother had purchased with her frugal savings. Even today, this piano is considered one of the treasured family heirlooms, which many grandchildren have learned to play.
The land which his Grandmother Thomas had homesteaded was divided between Archie and Frank. Archie received 240 acres on Tipperary Bench, just outside of Mountain View. To try and make the land productive and provide more income for his family, Archie leased his hay ground and raised sheep. He would leave Rawlins in the Spring and stay in Mt. View until lambing season was over.
Later, he moved his family to Evanston after Sylvia became ill with cancer and it was necessary for her to travel to Salt Lake City for radiation therapy. The Ranch provided a physical and emotional release for Archie which helped after the loss of his beloved wife on 26 June 1967, just one day short of 29 years of marriage.
After being a widower for three years on 16 January 1970 Archie married a high school friend, Blanche Proffit. Her husband Harlan Orrell had also died in 1967. They lived together for 4 years.
During the years Archie had suffered greatly with rheumatoid arthritis. He had taken many medications which seemed to give little relief. His hands became disfigured and his feet and joints caused him no end of pain. Later his lungs were affected and it was difficult for him to breathe. The arthritis was in advanced stages and Archie was called beyond the veil on 21 September 1974.
Archie and Sylvia were sealed by proxy in the Logan LDS Temple on 10 January 1976. They were examples of faith, hard work devotion to family and enduring to the end to their children. This world was made a better place because they walked upon it.
Lyman City Cemetery, Lyman, Uinta County, Wyoming
